Where to draw the line on true free speech

Plenty of opinions are offensive but they should be challenged by facts, not by outright bans

Jo Johnson, the universities minister, has promised action to guarantee free speech on campus. The proliferation of “safe spaces”, “no-platforming” and “trigger alerts”, he said last week, was “undermining the principle of free speech in our universities”.

His remarks were timely. Barely a week passes without people being pilloried for language or ideas which, it is claimed, cause various groups fear, offence or distress.

A protest movement arose to remove statues of Cecil Rhodes and William Gladstone on the basis that these leaders supported racism and slavery. People such as Germaine Greer and Nigel Farage have been barred from university platforms on the grounds of being transphobic or xenophobic. The human rights activist Maryam Namazie, a former Muslim who campaigns against Islamist oppression, has been…